Ear clip



A May 8, 1951 s. A. WITTMAYER EAR CLI P Filed May 25, 1947 All 1021401691,)!

N 4 w. Am mm nw a B M E D N A X u A A m K F w N A S Q. I ii\\ 9m w F M R O T T A w H Patented May 8, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to ear clips, and is an improvement on my ear clip invention for which a patent application has been filed on January 26, 1946, Serial No. 643,593, now Patent No. 2,537,500, granted January 9, 1951.

The main object of this invention is to provide an ear clip which will be more simple in construction than the ear clip of said patent application, but still it will be more eficient in operation.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an ear clip of this type, which will be easier to manufacture and assemble than was the case of the ear clip of said patent application.

Still another object of this invention is to provide, in general, a novel screw threaded propelling means for cases where it may be employed, as will be obvious from the herein specification.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent as the specification of the same proceeds, or will be pointed out therein, and, among others, I may mention: to provide an ear clip which will be more attractive in appearance and still more efficient in use than ear clips now in use or heretofore proposed.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification and accompanying the same:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an ear clip of my present invention, portions of the same being in section;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22;

Fig. 3 is a front view of my device taken as indicated by the arrow 3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail section as indicated by the line 44 in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail by characters of reference, my ear clip has the usual U-shaped clamping and carrier member, generally indicated by the numeral l0, and having an outer or front branch or leg II, a rear leg I2, and a curved connection l3 between them.

As shown in the section of Fig. 4, said U-shaped bar or clamping member preferably is made with an oval cross section for obvious reasons, as explained in my said co-pending application, and also to permit a narrower longitudinal slot in a guide tube to use the same, than would be the case if said clamping member would have a wider cross sectional dimension.

As it is well known in this art, and as has been explained in said co-pending application, the ear lobe will be placed between the two branches of the U It], the branch or leg ll being in front of it and carrying any desired ornamentation secured thereon (not shown).

A clamping plate or leg [4 is arranged within the U adapted to engage the rear of the ear lobe, so that when the leg H is moved rearwardly, the ear clip will be secured or clamped on the ear lobe with a desired pressure, and when it is moved in the reverse direction, forwardly, the ear clip will be released from the ear, as it is well known.

A tube !5 is secured on the central part of the clamping leg l 4, and a rotatable disk or knob 16 engages the outer end of said tube l5, as by the flange I1, and is rotatable with relation thereto. A tubular nut I8 is formed at the upper end of the inner leg or branch I2 of the clamping U l0, and a tubular screw I9 is secured to the rotatable knob l6, screw threaded through the sleeve nut l8, and being of such a length as to be in close proximity to the clamping leg l4 with its inner end l9a. Q

A thin rod or wire 20 is provided in the axis of the tubular screw [9, the rear end thereof passing through an aperture lBa in the rotatable knob or disk It, and terminating in a ball 2|, tightly but slidably drawn on the preferably concave curved outer surface lBb of said knob.

The clamping leg or plate 14 also will have a substantially central opening Ma through which passes the inner end of the central wire 2! being secured thereinto as by the welding or soldering 22. A longitudinal slot 23 is provided in the tube [5, and the upper end of inner leg I2 is projecting r therethrough and is slidable therein.

The use and operation of my device will be obvious from the herein description, and is very similar to the one described in my co-pending application. However, instead of having a solid all) screw which is swivelled in the center of the clamping plate or leg l4, providing a rather complicated device, difiicult to manufacture with the exactness required, the device of the present invention has a tubular screw l9 which is independent of the clamping plate [4, and the device is secured together by a central wire 20, the outer end of which may be welded or soldered to the clamping plate I 4 in an extremely simple and easy manner, while the inner end of it will have a globular termination to hold the parts of the device in assembled operating relation, at the same time permitting an easy movement of the knob 16 with very little friction.

As will be seen, when the knob I6 is caught by the fingers of the user and is turned in one direction, it will cause the tubular screw to be turned in the same direction, said screw being prevented of any axial movement so that upon turning the same, the sleeve nut 18 is caused to move transversely in one direction, let us say forwardly, carrying with it the U-shaped clamping member in the same direction and thereby releasing the ear clip. The plate M is maintained stationary during this action.

When the knob I6 is turned in the other direction, the clamping member will move rearwardly, its front flange ll approaching the clamp plate I4, and thereby securing the ear lobe between them. The pressure to which the ear lobe is submitted between the two mentioned parts depends only upon the amount of turning of the disk 16 and may be entirely regulated by the user, so that the securing of the ear clip should be safe and reliable, and should not cause any undue pain.

My device has many advantages and improvements over similar devices, as has been mentioned, but one of the main advantages is, that upon assembling the parts, the wire or rod 20 will be simply pulled through the opening lBa in the knob, the tubular screw l9, and the opening 22, in the clamping plate l4, and when the parts are this way tightly pressed together, the lower end of said wire will be simply soldered into said hole 22, and with this extremely easy and quick operation and securing, the ear clip moving mechanism will be ready.

As has been mentioned, notwithstanding the simplicity of the device, it will operate very reliably and with less friction and resistance than is the case with the securing ear clips now in use, and even with the device of my co-pending application.

Finally, the combination of one end of a moving hollow screw formed into an operating knob, a relatively stationary clamping member held together by an axial wire or rod in the screw, in the manner described, provides generally a novel element of machinery which in many cases may be used to great advantage, as will be obvious.

What I claim as new and want to protect by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In an ear clip, a U-shaped member, a sleeve nut at the end of one branch of the U, a tubular screw threaded through said nut, a knob at one end of the screw whereby to rotate the same, a pressure plate opposite the other end of said tubular screw, a wire passed through said screw, one end of said wire being secured into said pressure plate, the other end being rotatably secured in said knob, a reinforcing and steadying tube around said nut and screw, one end of the same being secured to said pressure plate, and the other end rotatably engaging said knob, said wire keeplng said plate, said screw and knob and said tube in desired relation closed on one another, a longitudinal slot being provided in said tube, the branch of the U-shaped member carrying the threaded sleeve being slidable in said slot.

2. In a device, as set forth in claim 1, a flange on the knob slidably and rotatably engaging the respective end of said tube.

3. An ear clip comprising a stationary member, and another member which is movable transversely with relation to said stationary member, a sleeve nut on said movable member, a tubular screw threaded through said sleeve nut and projecting at each end thereof, one end of the same pointing towards said stationary member, a knob secured on the other end of said screw, a hole being provided through said knob registering with the axis of the tubular screw, an axial rod passing through said tubular screw, one end of said rod being secured in said stationary member, and the other end being secured rotatably in said knob, a relatively stationary reinforcing element, one end of the same being secured in said stationary member, and the other end rotatably engaging said knob, said reinforcing member being in the form of a tube, a flange on said knob rotatably engaging said tube, a slot being provided in said tube, and said movable member being connected to said sleeve nut by an element slidable in said slot.

4. An ear clip comprising a stationary housing, a pressure plate formed at one end of said housing, a rotatable member disposed at the other end of said housing, a screw connected and extending from an inner wall of said rotatable member and within said housing to a point adjacent the inner wall of said pressure plate, a threaded sleeve engaging said screw so as to be movable axially thereof when said rotatable member is actuated, and a U-shaped member connected to said threaded sleeve and extending through said housing through a longitudinal slot formed therein, said screw being hollow, a rod connected at one end thereof to said pressure plate and extending through the hollow of said screw and through a central opening in said rotating member, the other end of said rod having an enlargement formed thereat so as to maintain the assembly of the device.

SANDOR ALEXANDER WITTMAYER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,195,324 Allen Aug. 22, 1916 1,296,552 Pejchar Mar. 4, 1919 2,205,674 Schroeder June 25, 1940 

